Woodhorn Colliery Explosion – Ashington – 1916

WOODHORN. Ashington, Northumberland. 13th. August, 1916.

The explosion occurred in the Main Seam at the colliery on the morning of the 13th August. The colliery was one of the Ashington group of mines and work was going on by a repairing shift to set steel girders as roof supports. As the work was of a very special nature the shift was composed of eight deputies and five other men sent to assist them.

The shafts at the colliery were sunk to the Low Main seam and, in descending order, passed through the High Main Seam, which was not worked, the Main Seam, then the Yard Seam, which were worked as naked light mines. The Yard and the Low Main were extensively worked but nothing but headings had been driven into the Main Coal east and west at either side of a cross-measure drift which intersected all the seams, for the purpose of opening out workings in the seam. The Main Seam was ventilated by fresh air entering the top of the drift from the High Main Seam and returning down the drift to the shaft at the Low Main Seam

On the day of the accident, the men received their instructions in the Low Main seam about 6 a.m. from the master-shifter, and then proceeded up the drift to the Main Coal. About half an hour after the men had left the master-shifter, he was aware that something had happened, and he and others went up the drift. They found two men alive but unconscious in the drift below the Main Seam workings. They never recovered consciousness. The other eleven men had been killed outright by the explosion.

Those who lost their lives were:

• David Armstrong, deputy overman, aged 46 years, married of 38, Rosalind Street, Hirst.
• Thomas Armstrong, middle overman, brother of David aged 43 years, married of 75, Rosalind Street, Hirst.
• Robert Hindmarsh, deputy overman aged 46 years, married of 46, Rosalind Street, Hirst.
• Edward Walton, stoneman aged 48 years, married of 48, Rosalind Street, Hirst.
• Ralph Howard, deputy overman aged 44 years, married of 288, Sycamore Street, Hirst.
• Joseph Hodgson, deputy overman aged 38 years, married of 33, Catherine Street, Hirst.
• Daniel Harrison deputy overman aged 38 years, married of 152, Maple Street, Hirst.
• George R. Hudson deputy overman aged 38 years of 43, Catherine Street, Hirst.
• Joseph Harrogate wasteman aged 29 years, single of 73, Sycamore Street, Hirst.
• Walter Hughes stoneman aged 41 years, married of 146, Hawthorne Road, Hirst.
• George Blair stoneman aged 41 years, married of Allinson’s Yard, Newbiggin.
• George Patterson stone cutter aged 21 years of 137. Sycamore Street. Hirst.

At the inquest which was held in Ashington, Thomas Proctor, the undermanager, stated that he was aware that the compressed air was not as usual on the morning of the disaster.

After a very careful inquiry and investigation, Mr. Wilson, the Inspector, came to the conclusion that the explosion originated through an accumulation of firedamp being ignited by a naked light near the face of the main heading. The force appeared to have travelled outbye, into each opening right and left, then across the drift into the east levels. At the face of the main east heading it is almost certain that there was another accumulation and the renewed force then travelled outbye, carrying all the girders in its path which had not been removed by the first blast, until it met the afterdamp coming from the west levels, and was the choked down.

Mr. Wilson said that the evidence leading to these conclusions were:

The coal was so thick that the roadways were about 8 feet high and the main headings 12 feet wide. These headings were ordinarily ventilated by compressed air arranged in such a manner that a jet of air played into the open end of a 6-inch pipe and induce a current of air which was carried forward from the end of the last stenton.

On the date in question, the air compressor was not at work as it was regularly stopped every other weekend from 5 a.m. on Saturday to 6 a.m. on Sunday, and further owing to the shortness of steam, due to the fact that four stokers had failed to turn up at work, the ventilating fan was running at a slower speed than usual. The compressed air being off, there would be no current of air passing into each heading beyond the last stenton that is for a length of 58 yards on the east heading and 93 yards on the west heading. On the previous day, the fan had been off for repairs for six hours, and a furnace which would not give the same amount of ventilation was light in its stead. It is interesting to note also, though we have it upon high scientific authority that a change in pressure will not affect the exudation of gas from solid coal, that for the week ending the 13th August the barometer has steadily fallen .75 of an inch.

Gas had never been seen in this seam and, therefore, it is likely that none of the eight officials made a very close search for it. I think it is certain that these officials never raised their lamps as high as their heads.

A partly consumed candle was found near a full tub a few yards from the face of the main west heading, and the bodies of two men a little outbye of the tub, lying against a girder with their necks broken. I assume that one of the two men had probably stood upon a tub while making preparations for setting a steel girder and had ignited a layer of firedamp lying next to the roof. There were little signs of either heat or force at this point. Outbye of this there had been a great heat and it is probable that near here the detonation was et up. Further outbye a man had been violently blown along the stenton from the direction of the main level to the back level, and was much burnt. Still further outbye there was fall of roof, the girders being displaced outbye. At the end of the main level next to the drift was upended in an outbye direction. At the drift end of the back west level, a girder was displaced outbye. At the drift end of the man level, a pony was found badly burnt, then covered by a fall of roof. Some yards from the face of the main east heading the bodies of four men were found showing signs of very severe burning and force. About this point, there had been very intense heat. I feel convinced that this heat was due not to compression only but to compression of an explosive mixture. Had the explosion originated in this heading, as was suggested at the Corner’s Inquest by a well-known mining engineer, the evidence of force along the west heading should have pointed in an opposite direction, and signs of heat should have been visible near the face.

The roof of these main levels was supported by 12 feet girders, some 2 feet apart, resting on running timbers each of which carried four girders, and a prop upon a footing was set beneath each girder. Along the east heading a fall, 4 feet in thickness and for a length of 90 yards, had taken place. The same witness offered the opinion that the fall of the roof came away so suddenly that the air displaced by it had sufficient force to throw men to the ground and break their necks, also that the fall either liberated gas or was helped down by the pressure of gas behind it, and the gas ultimately became ignited.

The area of the fall was bonded by a depression in the seam due to the goaf in the coal workings beneath. Such conditions are most suitable for shaking the strata and steadily liberating any gas that may exist, and also loosening the supports to the roof. It is a fact, however, that no gas had been seen in the cavities in the roof, neither before nor since the explosion. It is somewhat difficult to appreciate how it can be suggested, in a roadway such as I have described, that shale is going to descend like a piston in a cylinder, with such awkward obstacles in its way as all these footings, props, runners and long girders.

Prior to the explosion gas had never been seen in the mine, After the explosion, it was seen at the face of the headings in both sets of levels, and at a time when the barometer had been falling for a week. On the 25th August when the barometer had again been steadily falling for some days, and, moreover, when the normal quantity if the air had been doubled, gas was seen again at the face of the headings but was not discovered in any cavities of the roof outbye of the faces. It is a reasonable assumption, therefore, that on the date of the explosion firedamp had accumulated at the face of the headings.

Naked lights were used in this seam and although both safety lamps and candles were found near the men who lost their lives it was only because all the men concerned usually worked in the Low Main Seam that they had safety lamps in their possession.

The floor of the roadways were damp, but probably there was an amount of dry coal dust upon the flanges of the girders, sufficient to play some part in the explosion.

The inquest was held before Coroner Percy at Ashington and the jury returned the following verdict:

That the deceased men were accidentally killed on the 13th day of August 1916 while working in Woodhorn Colliery, by an explosion of gas in the Main Seam, and that such gas had accumulated through want of sufficient ventilation and exploded through contact with a naked light and before any fall of stone took place. We are of the opinion that the management should see in future that written reports should be made for every shift, special or otherwise. We are also of the opinion that there has been a certain amount of laxity on the part of the management for not seeing that sufficient ventilation was being maintained.

The investigation into the accident uncovered violations of the Coal Mines Act, 1911 and legal proceedings were instituted against the manager and enginewright. The proceedings against both were dismissed but the decision against the manager was the subject of an appeal.

Mr. Wilson commented:

With regard to inspection, several deputies gave evidence that on Sunday morning shifts two of their number always made an inspection. They always looked upon these a special, as they were composed of officials (though in this case, five others had joined them) it was unnecessary to make written reports. I found that there was an understanding common in the county, and I learned later that it was also accepted as the proper procedure throughout Durham. This, of course, was altered in both counties to conform to the strict requirements of the Act.

REFERENCES
The Mines Inspectors Report. Mr. J.R.R. Wilson.
The Colliery Guardian, 22nd September 1916, p.561.
Newcastle Daily Chronicle.

Information supplied by Ian Winstanley and the Coal Mining History Resource Centre.